Comics industry started in Cleveland: PD 175 (vintage photos)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Comic books and graphic novels have gone from being a disposable commodity to a near-billion-dollar industry, 10 times that if you count the movies comics have inspired.

To think that the entire industry started in a humble house on Kimberley Avenue in the Glenville section of Cleveland where two teen-age boys came up with the idea of stories about a man who could fly, a Superman.

Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, boyhood pals from Glenville High School, were desperate to help their families during the Great Depression by landing a lucrative comic strip for American newspapers.

Their character, a Cleveland newspaper reporter who was actually a "strange visitor from another planet with powers and abilities far above those of mortal men," was universally rejected by all the newspapers and syndicates of the time, including The Plain Dealer.

But that did not stop Siegel and Shuster, they kept pitching. Their perseverance paid off, but not initially with Superman.

Instead, they landed a job producing "Henri Duval of France, Famed Soldier of Fortune" in something new, a "comic book" for "More Fun Comics" in 1935. Up until this time, comic books merely collected newspaper strips and had no original stories.

The young men were encouraged by their success and went on to contribute more stories to "New Fun Comics" including "Dr. Occult, the Ghost Detective," also in 1935 and in 1936 produced "Federal Men." Ironically, Dr. Occult became the very first superhero for the company that would evolve into DC Comics. In an early issue, the character wore what would become a standard style costume for super-heroes that continues today. Dr. Occult is still an active character (though rarely seen) in the DC universe.

Siegel and Shuster were developing a reputation as men who could turn out quality work quickly. They never gave up on their idea of Superman, even as they fleshed out the character. Originally, he was pitched as a super-villain that resembled Lex Luthor, but they quickly realized he would be better suited as something else, a hero. No, a "super" hero.

In 1937, their publisher wanted to launch an original series of comic books called "Action Comics." It would be a companion title to their successful series, "Detective Comics," that would eventually star another world-famous hero, Batman.

The publisher dusted off the Superman proposal and offered the job to Siegel and Shuster. It was so good, it made the cover of "Action Comics" No. 1, which hit the streets in April, 1938, and sold for a whopping 10 cents. In 2014, a near-perfect copy of the book sold for $3.2 million.

The book was a huge success which inspired other New York publishers to follow suit and flood the market with these new things called "comic books." Their target audience was young boys who literally purchased them by the millions every month.

The comic industry grew tremendously during World War II as tons of comics were sent overseas to help boost soldiers' morale. During that time, many of the covers featured superheroes fighting Nazis and Japanese soldiers. The age of the superhero was at its zenith during the war, but the comic industry also produced tons of non-superhero books as well, many bought by young girls. So-called "funny animal" books like "Donald Duck," "Bugs Bunny" and dozens more filled the stands. Also, standing shoulder to cape with superhero comics were lighthearted books starring teenagers and their adventures, like "Archie." Later, comics would further branch out into romance comics, crime, horror and western stories.

Once people got used to going to the corner newsstand every week for comic books, the hobby mushroomed.

Siegel and Shuster enjoyed their share of the spotlight and went on to create hundreds of stories for DC in the 1940s until a fight over the rights to the character Superboy. The men sued DC and won a settlement, but the battle ended their careers at DC. Siegel returned to DC in1959 and wrote Superman stories until the mid-1960s, but Shuster never returned. Siegel continued to write for numerous other comic companies into the 1980s.

The industry the men spawned continues to thrive and grow.

There was a downturn for the comic industry in the 1950s, but the hobby continued to attract new readers.

In 1961, everything changed when the revitalized Marvel Comics introduced the "Fantastic Four," a group of adventurers that went into outer space and returned with superheros. They were followed in quick succession by The Hulk, Spider-Man and The Avengers. Since that time, tens of thousands of adventures have been shared.

Comic readers fantasized for years of seeing their heroes on television and in the movies.

There were some interesting attempts in the 1940s with Superman, Batman, Captain America and others, but the idea didn't mesh until the 1950s "Adventures of Superman" television show.

The next big bump was the 1960s satire show starring Batman and Robin, which triggered a superhero renaissance, but the true breakthrough came in 1978 with the first Superman movie.

Since then, the superhero movie has become box office magic, garnering billions of dollars annually. Many of the biggest movies of the past decade are based on super-heroes, including several starring that guy dressed in red, blue and yellow that was created 84 years ago at that little house in Glenville.